John Hopkins official...WSBK!!! shit is on now!!

[Crasherfromwayback]

Yup, comparing Foggy and Slight on the same bike was illuminating to say the least. Not strictly a fair comparison given Slights experience on the Honda but Foggy was a long way back.

Maybe. But REALLY great riders adapt pretty quickly to any bike. Spies on his new Yamaha. Rossi to Yamaha. Lawson from Yamaha to Honda and back again...I think Foggy was fucking lucky the rules always favoured Ducati when he was riding them. I really don't think he would've won a championship if he was anything else.

[roadracingoldfart]

All the action in WSB and bloody Bayliss quit LAST year . Thats a shame, and i would love to see him against the teams and riders now as they stand.

My pick for the year , Haga 1st , Max the Man will be somewhere in the top 4 and Spies is not a proven crash healer so i dont lookl at him as a WSB champ yet. The way he rides its got to end in tears soon surely.

Paul.

[roadracingoldfart]

You're on mate. One dollar sez Hopper does not challenge the lead of more than two races for the remainder of the season.

Im with you there.


.

[Crasherfromwayback]

and Spies is not a proven crash healer so i dont lookl at him as a WSB champ yet. The way he rides its got to end in tears soon surely.

Paul.

He sure is mate. Won his second (I think it was) AMA Superbike title from Mladin with a badly broken hand. He's a hard c*nt.

[Badjelly]

Although it isn't currently clear whether Hopkins will ride a third Honda CBR1000RR or replace one of Stiggy's existing riders, the American revealed that he will be on the grid with the team from the third round of the championship at Valencia, Spain.

...

However, while Hopkins was in line to replace the then-injured Roberto Rolfo at the start of the season, the prospect of a revived deal with Kawasaki – under the Hayate banner - is thought to have stalled negotiations. Only when it was apparent that Hayate would be built around Marco Melandri, did Hopkins reignite his Superbike plans.

Rolfo is out:

http://www.crash.net/World+Superbike...olfo_exit.html

[roadracingoldfart]

He sure is mate. Won his second (I think it was) AMA Superbike title from Mladin with a badly broken hand. He's a hard c*nt.

Ohh Pete stop being a smarty bumm .

i sit corrected . But seriously , just the hand , what a wowser.

[gav]

Yup, comparing Foggy and Slight on the same bike was illuminating to say the least. Not strictly a fair comparison given Slights experience on the Honda but Foggy was a long way back.

Foggy had 4 race wins on the RC45 in the one season he raced it, how many did Slight have that same season?
And when was the last time John Hopkins won a race?

[Quasievil]

bet you a dollar your wrong!!

You will be wanting a loan then bro ?

[Matt Bleck]

If Ant West's Stiggy 600 is anything to go by, old big ears will be at a disadvantage before he leaves the pits.

[roogazza]

Ohh Pete stop being a smarty bumm .
i sit corrected . But seriously , just the hand , what a wowser.

I thought a wowser doesn't drink, isn't 'bigears' a pisshead ? G.

[slowpoke]

Maybe. But REALLY great riders adapt pretty quickly to any bike. Spies on his new Yamaha. Rossi to Yamaha. Lawson from Yamaha to Honda and back again...I think Foggy was fucking lucky the rules always favoured Ducati when he was riding them. I really don't think he would've won a championship if he was anything else.

Yep, fair comments mate.

Foggy had 4 race wins on the RC45 in the one season he raced it, how many did Slight have that same season?
And when was the last time John Hopkins won a race?

Foggy won some races alright but considering he was on a factory honda ride he struggled (4th in championship?), and he's admitted as much himself. He's a good rider but personally I don't see him as one of the greatest ever in spite of his record. Just like Doohan, the question always remains: How much was man, how much was machine? Guys like Lawson and Rossi have well and truly answered that question with championship wins on different bikes.

Hopkins? He won an AMA Formual Extreme title as a teenager so he's no mug. The only factory rides he's had have been the worst in the paddock so it would have been interesting to see him on a decent bike. I hope he gets the chance in years to come.

[cowpoos]

You will be wanting a loan then bro ?

yeah...if I lose....but...if your offering...trashy will probally need one in he lose's too....

[BarryG]

Having watched Ben for the last few years over here, and most particularly at Road Atlanta last season, he is a very complete racer. Seldom tosses it down the road, Incredibly focussed, ever fast from the go, honed by his battles with a hard man in Mladin, it's honestly not a surprise that with the Yamaha as good as it obviously is, he's already won 3 out of 4. You knew he had found his place at that frist test at Portimao at the end of last year - on top or very close his first time out at a brand new track on a brand new bike.
Haga/Ducati must be gutted and shaken right now, I reckon!
Valencia will be interesting, a different style of track to the first two rounds, but Ben will be at the sharp end, no doubt.
WSBK has overtaken MotoGP in so many ways for the sheer quality of the field and the racing. Dorna must be pretty gutted too!
Cheers
Barry